Dustin Hoffman apologizes after being accused of sexually harassing 17-year-old girl when he was 48

Dustin Hoffman has issued an apology following a woman's account of being sexually harassed by the actor when she was 17 years old.

In an essay penned for Hollywood Reporter, Anna Graham Hunter describes a series of uncomfortable incidents that allegedly took place in 1985, when Hoffman was 48 and she was a high school senior.

Hunter was a production assistant on set of Hoffman's "Death of a Salesman" and admits that at first, she enjoyed the attention from the esteemed actor. However, the joking tone of their interactions quickly turned more sexual, upsetting the teen to the point of tears.

"One morning I went to his dressing room to take his breakfast order; he looked at me and grinned, taking his time," Hunter recounts. "Then he said, "I'll have a hard-boiled egg … and a soft-boiled clitoris."

On another occasion, Hoffman allegedly quizzed Hunter on her sexual activities, asking her, "So, did you have sex over the weekend like I told you?" to which Hunter replied, "No."

"What is this, celibate weekends?" Hoffman continued. Hunter, laughing, said she would next weekend.

After an occasion during which Hoffman allegedly repeatedly touched Hunter's rear, he accused her in front of the crew of thinking he was a "sexist pig." After she told him she "didn't appreciate his wandering hands or his comments," he apologized profusely, she said.

Hunter's words come from letters she sent at the time to her sister, sharing stories of her experiences on set. Today, rereading the letters, Hunter writes, "My heart aches for the awkward virgin with the bad hair who had only been kissed three times in her life, laughing as the man her father's age talked about breasts and sex. I want to weep that she found this charming."

Hoffman told the Hollywood Reporter, "I have the utmost respect for women and feel terrible that anything I might have done could have put her in an uncomfortable situation. I am sorry. It is not reflective of who I am."